Being kind in unkind times.

I am currently feeling the contradiction of intense, difficult and uncomfortable feelings of hurt and betrayal of my trust and paradoxically the sense of immense gratitude, love and peace with my own ability to remain open in a world filled with people that do mean things or operate from a place of greed and selfishness.

If the human heart is inherently gentle and kind,then how do we cope with a world that seems so harsh and mean?

How does one remain open, warm and gentle as we move through a world that is hard, cold and sometimes very difficult. How do we move through this difficulty without ourselves becoming difficult and hard? Where do you find the strength to remain open and vulnerable so it sets the stage for the people in your life to feel comfortable to do the same?

The answer to these questions and all questions involving personal struggle, is “Intention.” Your heart is called to, and invited to begin each day with the intention to be kind, to be open, to give and receive love, to be gentle and caring to yourself and others.

We will fail, we will slip up and fall down, that is inevitable! But if we do not initially intend for kindness in our lives, we will never fully give or receive kindness.

It may, at times feel impossible not to match the reckless and selfish behaviors of the world with the same, or greater level of selfishness. But ‘an eye for an eye will leave everyone blind’.

The practice of Intention invites you to pose the question: Am I able to create harmlessness, even when my life is painful or someone has harmed me?

There is only one way out of a destructive cycle of harm causing harm, and that is with the intention to be kind, to forgive yourself for your decisions and to consider forgiving others in the role they played in hurting you.

We, of course need to follow our highest intentions with our highest actions. Intention is not a passive practice, but instead we must consciously choose to align our behavior and our words with our intentions.